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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121543">sand stays, all else changes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltic_daze/pseuds/meltic_daze'>meltic_daze</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angstober, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Implied Death, Minimal Worldbuilding, Mourning, Retrospective, and by implied i mean i say it, but not incest, father-son farewell, im not sure which tags to use im new at this, magic type world</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:21:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121543</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meltic_daze/pseuds/meltic_daze</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An unforgettable moment in the life of Elias, one that leaves aftershocks.<br/>(written for prompt 2 of angstober: stolen)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Male Character &amp; Original Male Character</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>sand stays, all else changes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title taken from Star Wars: KOTOR. It stuck with me and I desperately googled it to find out the unparaphrased version. This is my first ever post so please be kind!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a blistering cold evening when Elias’s father was dragged out of their home. Elias remembered the smell of burning flesh and his mother’s screams as she tried to fight them off. He could imagine the fingers that so gently caressed his swollen knee flinging pyros spells at the intruders.</p><p> </p><p>A terrified Elias lingered upstairs with a sick funny feeling sliding into his stomach the way desert sand collects on their roof at night. Softly pooling and freezing to the touch. Heart pounding, he put his hands around his ears and screwed his eyes shut, wanting horribly for this all to stop.</p><p> </p><p>Elias looked up sharply when the door creaked open but his grimace melted into a smile at his father’s face. The desert sands retracted and Elias reached out a hand. His father was smiling, but his eyes weren’t crinkling the way they usually were. Elias didn’t notice until later, thinking on the memory in stolen pensive moments, but his father’s hands were shaking. His father put a finger to his lips, still smiling, and motioned for him to join. He picked Elias up and held him to his chest, one warm palm securing Elias to the crook of his neck. Elias shut his eyes, warmth swelling in his heart, and locked his arms around his father’s neck. With his father around he felt a little safer. He picked up the pace and quietly slunk over to the window. Opening it with one hand, he cast a quick ventus to hasten their fall. His father’s grip tightened, and he murmured words of comfort Elias for the life of him could never recall. In the moment before the drop Elias felt his heart stop and turned his face into his father’s neck. </p><p> </p><p>At the sound of soft footfalls sand, Elias loosened his fists from his father’s shirt. With a pat to his back, his father ran around to the back of their home. The air was heavy with screams and a strange copper scent Elias couldn’t identify. Something deep inside him shook but he didn’t cry, not yet. The harsh desert wind of his heart held its breath.</p><p> </p><p>The sound of footsteps stopped and when Elias looked up he noticed they reached the old cellar doors. He remembered hiding in the coolness beneath the ground from the desert heat that sapped the water from his skin. The desert never gave, only took and took until there was nothing left to give and when you collapsed the sand would whiten your bones. His father knelt and set Elias down, not yet letting go. He ran his warm calloused hands over Elias’ shoulders, bringing one to rest on his head. </p><p> </p><p>He stared long and hard. An unknown emotion flitted across his features, something making his eyebrows scrunch. His father’s hand on his shoulder tightened. But a moment passed and his features hardened, the smile dimming but pasted firmly on. Elias’s heart skipped a beat. The desert was rarely a cold place at this time, but just then a shiver traced his spine. The hand on his head ruffled his hair once, twice, before resting on the back of his neck. His father leaned forward and tipped his forehead against Elias’s. The world stopped turning. Desert winds roared, warring with the peaceful rain his presence gave him. He knew something was coming, knew it in the beat oh his heart and the rush of blood in his ears. But just what Elias couldn't understand. Finally, his father drew back, and Elias mourned the loss of comfort he provided. His father wordlessly untied the headscarf wrapped around his brow. Loosened hair glinted silver in the moonlight as he handed it to Elias. He gasped. Elias had never seen his father without it. It was a symbol of pride among the desert elves, each ring showing the countless generations of their family thriving among the sands. It was only to be removed upon, when, after someone-</p><p> </p><p>“Elias,” his father cruelly whispered, “Never lose this. It means the world to me and your mother.” He moved to retie it when Elias grabbed his wrist. Again, time seemed to stop, even the desert narrowed down to this one moment. The shouts of pain off in the distance eased into silence.</p><p> </p><p>“Father wait!” Elias cried out. Something wet touched his face and streamed down his cheeks. Maybe it started to rain. “Does this mean-?”</p><p> </p><p>He gently pried Elias’s fingers off and held them in his larger hand. His eyes were filled with a determined slant. “Everything will be alright. Now listen to me, El. Take this, stay in the cellar. And do not move no matter what you hear.” His father shifted his hands to place the headscarf in Elias’s gently trembling fingers. He closed them over the soft fabric and clenched it tight. From one breath between the next his fingers lingered, a spot of warmth, and for a moment Elias forgot reality and it was like he was seven years old again, his mother and father beside themselves with joy at Elias’ first wood carving their hands reaching for his-</p><p> </p><p>Shouts mingled with the cool night air, echoing from their home now in tatters. Elias couldn’t see what was happening from behind his father’s broad back but the shouts of agony put him on edge. His father’s head tilted up, brows furrowing for a moment before smoothing. He glanced down in thought at his palms before drawing back, his fingers ghosting along Elias’s palm before retreating fully.</p><p> </p><p>Elias’s fingers reached out on reflex to chase that tenderness before dropping like a duskrat shot dead. It was like all the breath left his lungs, the winds scorching them with each burning inhale. A horrific truth began to dawn on Elias just then but he didn't want to, couldn't face it. Never wanted to think about what the passing of the token meant when the former bearer was still living. In the back of his mind a voice whispered that perhaps because he would not be among the living much longer. Elias pushed back as hard as he could, desperate to forget his conclusion. Now looking deeper he understood the emotion swirling in his father’s eyes. Resignation, pain, and something like hope. He couldn't form words to speak, anything to say or do. He was frozen.</p><p> </p><p>His father inhaled long and slow. He stood up, straightening his spine. He smiled. “I want with all my heart to stay, but your mother needs me.” He turned away, gazing off at some fixed point in the distance. “There is something I must do to protect all of us. I only hope you understand one day, my beautiful shining boy.” His father palmed the sword at his side, gripping the handle tight.</p><p> </p><p>“May the goddesses watch over you El. As I will be.” With a nod he turned away and left Elias cold and alone near the cellar. Elias could only watch as he walked away, shocked into stillness.</p><p>That was the last time he ever saw his father. Walking bravely off into the night in search of his mother, shoulders set with determination. The man he idolized all his childhood, the spirit of a desert serpent but with a heart vast enough to fit every grain of sand in all the dunes. Afterwards, Elias learned the truth of what happened that night. Demons came in search of his father under suspicions of harboring rebels among other illegal activities. In truth, his father was a member of high prominence in the militia against demonic rule. The careful balance between his activities and home life came to a head when his identity was discovered and a group of assassins closed in on his home, intent to shuttle him to their capital. </p><p> </p><p>During nights when the moon was full and shining just as it did that day, Elias wonders what went through his father’s mind when he held out a hand with a gift to his shaking son. Did his father know at that moment that escape was futile. That on his own perhaps he could have left, but with his wife and child? That there was no way to smuggle them out in time. No way for peaceful reconciliation. Had he too mourned over what he gave up that day? </p><p> </p><p>But still, whatever he must have been thinking, he offered himself up peacefully in exchange for his wife and son’s safety. From there his father, stolen from his home, walked off with them into the night and, soon after, into the noose.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>extra:</p><p>An older Elias grieved that in the moment all he had thought of was the warmth of his father’s presence. If only he knew it was the last time he would see his face. If only he said goodbye. Elias cried out to the desert but only silence answered.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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